AfCFTA's Blueprint for Africa's Automotive Future

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has a blueprint to transform Africa's automotive industry by connecting markets and industrial capabilities. This will enable vehicles and components to be manufactured, traded, and serviced competitively across the continent. A World Economic Forum analysis projects that AfCFTA could generate an additional $12 billion for Africa's automotive industry by 2027.

Africa's annual demand for vehicles is approximately 2.4 million passenger cars and 300,000 commercial vehicles. However, much of this demand is met through imports, particularly used vehicles. In 2025, Africa manufactured approximately 1.23 million vehicles, representing about 1.3 per cent of global output. South Africa and Morocco accounted for more than 90 per cent of African production, with 618,077 and 501,965 vehicles respectively.

Egypt, Algeria, Kenya, and Ghana have opportunities to expand assembly and component manufacturing. However, attracting sustained investment will depend on infrastructure, skills, policy consistency, and access to regional markets. The AfCFTA's automotive framework seeks to address some of these structural constraints through its Continental Automotive Strategy and Implementation Plan.

The AfCFTA's rules of origin establish conditions for vehicles and components to qualify for preferential treatment as African products. AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene stated that attention must shift towards translating the rules into investment, production, and employment. Priorities include developing investment-ready projects, strengthening regional supplier networks, and ensuring production viability.

A UNCTAD report illustrates the weakness of existing integration, with African suppliers accounting for only 4 per cent of imports of automotive parts and systems. Financing is also essential; Afreximbank announced a US$1 billion facility to support local content development and investment in Africa's automotive industry.

South Africa's Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, outlined an ambition for Africa to produce between four million and five million vehicles annually by 2035. A proposed automotive pact between the Southern African Customs Union and Egypt could encourage cooperation between established and emerging manufacturing markets.

The transition towards electric mobility adds another dimension, with Africa possessing significant reserves of minerals such as cobalt, lithium, copper, and platinum. Expanding this sector will require affordable vehicles, reliable electricity, charging infrastructure, and financing models suited to African consumers and businesses.

Key points

• The AfCFTA offers a framework for achieving continental integration and growth in the automotive industry.
• Africa's automotive industry could generate an additional $12 billion by 2027 with AfCFTA.
• The industry's development will require infrastructure, skills, policy consistency, and access to regional markets.